Hope
by MissFiyerabaMeponineSherlock
Summary: 'Ah, how wonderful death would be! What a relief death would be! How easy death would be' Eponine, a girl with no happiness in her life, considers death as her only option. Could a young law student change her mind?
1. Chapter 1

**Meponine drabble. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters**

_Hope_

It was a cold night. Cold and dark. Very very dark. Eponine was walking through the streets of Paris, contemplating her life. She had just ran away from her father after a particularly bad beating. He'd very nearly forced her to go down to the docks, where the prostitutes worked, so she ran out before he could inflict anymore harm and force her to lose the last of her dignity. She walked, without realising she was doing so, towards the Seine. _Ah, how wonderful death would be! What a relief death would be! How easy death would be! Oh I am so unhappy, but death... death would be my saviour! _

Before she knew it, she was on the bridge overlooking the Seine. _How blissful death will be..._ She looked down at the rushing water. Black, cold, and seemingly endless. Eponine couldn't help but shudder slightly. _That... that is nothing, death will be quick, will it not? _She stepped towards the edge of the bridge. _Life... how strange it is... I start off with a loving mother and father, beautiful dresses with ribbons and frills, lovely hats and bonnets, shiny chestnut curls, no tangles, no dirt... I was happy. I wasn't so dangerously thin, I wasn't covered in grime or in bruises... My father never hurt me, my mother actually cared. Then it all went wrong... Every day, I starve. Every day, my father beats me, his gang beats me. Every day, I worry that Montparnasse will rape me. Oh how close he has come to doing so! _Though she tried not to, she could remember all too well the times that Montparnasse had forced his mouth onto hers, how he had forced his slimy tongue into her mouth. She could remember the several times that he had come so close... then there was the time that he actually had. It had happened only once, for Eponine had made sure it would never happen again. Montparnasse had been particularly drunk...

_"'Ey, Ep'nine! C'mere!" Montparnasse drunkenly slurred. Eponine ignored him, so he walked over to her. "I said C'MERE!" He shouted at her. He yanked on her hair. Eponine cried out in pain. He tilted her head back and kissed her forcefully, sliding his tongue into her mouth and rubbing it against hers. Eponine tried to pull back. He pushed her up against the wall and started to undo his trousers. _

_"'Parnasse, please no!" Eponine begged. He laughed and hitched her skirt up. "Please, please no..." She started to cry. She knew what was going to happen. He forced himself into her. Eponine cried out. _

_"Ya like it, Ep'nine. I know ya do." he whispered in her ear. He pulled back and then thrust in again. _

_"Please stop..." she whispered desperately. He ignored her pleas, just as he did for the rest of the night._

She had to try not to sob. _No, Eponine. No tears. Tears are weakness. Need to be brave... need to jump..._ She looked down at the unforgiving blackness of the ice-cold water below. She was so close to edge now. _One little step... just one little step..._ She told herself. She took a deep breath. _I'm ready... _Just as she was about to jump, she felt strong arms encircle her waist and pull her back. When the arms released her, she turned and found herself face to face with the handsomest man Eponine had ever seen. He had jet black hair and startlingly green eyes that seemed to sparkle.

"The edge of a bridge is not a safe place to stand." He told her.

"I'm well aware of that." She replied.

"You could fall into the Seine and drown."

"That was the point, Monsieur." She told him. He blinked, unsure of what to say. Yes, he had guessed that suicide was what had brought her to the bridge, but he hadn't expected her to be so blunt about it.

"But why?"

"Because I see no reason to live."

"There are many reasons to live!"

"Name one."

"Love." he offered.

"There's none of that in my life."

"Friendship." he tried again.

"None of that either."

"Hope."

"What do I have to hope for?" She asked with a laugh. "Every day I am brutally beaten by my father, every day I go hungry, every day is just another miserable day in my life. The only thing I have to hope for is that my father doesn't force me into prostitution." He gasped and Eponine couldn't help but smirk. "And you, Monsieur, are just the typical bourgeois. You come along talking of love; of friendship; of hope. These are things that come with money. With money you have a good life, you're not hungry, you're not dirty. People can bear to look at you. People tend not to look at me. Definitely not. No, who would want anything to do with a street rat, hmm?" He reached into his pocket and held out a five franc piece to her. She looked offended. "I do not accept charity. I'd sooner steal than accept your charity, _Monsieur._ You take your love, your friendship, and your hope. They are things that do not belong in my life. Not anymore."

"But they can, don't you see that?"

"How can they when there is no one in the world who cares about me?" She asked. "No one cares, so there's no love. No one cares, so there's no friendship. No one cares, so there's no hope."

"There's always hope." he said quietly. "Every sunrise brings hope, every smile brings hope. A new day is dawning, soon France will be free and no one will suffer any longer! France is changing, and its people will change with it. And as for love... everyone deserves love."

"And what of friendship?"

"I believe I can help you with that." He offered with a smile. She didn't smile back, but her lips did twitch upward for the briefest of moments. "My name is Marius Pontmercy." He introduced himself with a bow.

"I'm Eponine Thenardier." She replied. Marius could have sworn that what he saw in her eyes was hope as her hazel eyes looked into his green ones.

...

Marius and Eponine became friends rather quickly. When they talked, they talked about anything and everything. Marius, it turned out, was not the typical bourgeois. In fact, he did not actually have much in the way of money. He refused to accept money that he had not earned. Marius told her about law school, and he told her all about the society of Les Amis de l'ABC. He even took her to some of the meetings. Eponine got along well with Les Amis. She could tell that, despite their differences, they all had one common goal: to free France. Eponine liked the idea of a free France and she soon became a regular at the meetings.

Eponine soon became friends with all of Les Amis de l'ABC. She particularly enjoyed annoying Enjolras, the leader of Les Amis. Eponine had also taken quite a liking to Marius and she was very thankful that he had convinced her not to kill herself. It was not long before Marius and Eponine were best friends.

But despite these welcome changes in Eponine's life, her life was far from perfect. Though she did have happiness in her life, she was still regularly beaten by her father, still regularly went hungry, and still had to deal with Montparnasse's advances.

...

Eponine went home late one night. She hadn't stolen much; it had been a rainy day and there hadn't been many people out and about in the slums of Saint-Michel. She dreaded going home as she was sure her father would not be happy with her. She had only stolen 2 francs.

She sighed and walked into the Gorbeau house. She walked up several flights of stairs to her floor. She glanced at the door that led into Marius' living quarters and sighed. _Whatever happens to me will probably be heard by him..._ She turned her eyes onto her own door. She hesitated before entering, dreading what she would find.

Her father was drunk. Well, drunk was an understatement. Her father looked at her and then stumbled over to her.

"Gimme the money." he slurred. Eponine shakily handed him the 2 francs. He looked at the two coins. "Two francs? Two francs!? This's all yeh bring me!" He shouted. He grabbed her by her hair and slammed her against the wall. Eponine whimpered. "SHUT UP!" He yelled, punching her hard in the face. He shoved her to the ground, took off his belt, and began to whip her with it. Eponine let out a shriek of pain. Thenardier continued to brutally beat her to within an inch of her life.

...

Marius awoke to the sound of a girl screaming. _Eponine._ He thought. He quickly got out of bed and got dressed. He heard the sound of a door slamming shut. He left his apartment just in time to see Eponine limping down the stairs as quickly as she could.

"Eponine?" Marius called out to her.

"Leave me alone, Monsieur." she called back. Then she missed a step and fell the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Eponine!" Marius ran down the stairs and over to where she was lying on the ground. He knelt down next to her and noticed the blood. So much blood... "Oh God, it's everywhere..." he whispered. Eponine moaned in pain. He noticed the fresh cuts and bruises, and the marks from her father's belt. "Eponine... did your father...?"

"No, it was a bloody leprechaun." she snapped. "Of course it was my father." She tried to get to her feet, but collapsed. Marius caught her and helped her to her feet. She pulled away and limped towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Marius asked her.

"To sleep on the streets." she replied. "There is no way I'm going back there, not tonight..."

"You can stay with me." he offered. She looked at her.

"I wouldn't want to impose..."

"You wouldn't be imposing." he assured her. She nodded after a moment and limped back over to the stairs. Marius went over to her and picked her up. Eponine was about to protest but then Marius said: "Would you rather fall down the stairs again?" He carried her up and brought her into his flat. He placed her down on the bed and got some bandages and a wet cloth and tended to her wounds. When he finished, Eponine got up and walked over to the couch. "Eponine–"

"No, Monsieur. You've done enough for me. I'll sleep on the couch." she told him. Seeing that he wouldn't win the argument, he nodded. Eponine layed down on the couch. Marius brought her a pillow and a blanket. "Thank you, Monsieur." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

"You're welcome, Eponine." he replied, "Oh, and Eponine?"

"Oui Monsieur?"

"Call me Marius."

**Well, there ya go. I hope you liked it. Not sure if I'm gonna make this into more than a one-shot, what do you guys think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy the fluff because the next chapter will get alot more... angsty...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Miserables or any of the characters.**

Marius woke again rather early in the morning and found Eponine curled up against his side in his bed, her head resting on his chest. He smiled lightly, noticing how comfortable she looked, how... content she looked. He reveled in moments like these, those moments that Eponine was actually happy. He wished that she would always be happy. _She doesn't deserve the life she has, _Marius thought, _no one deserves the life she has..._ Oh how he wished he could take her away from all of that. On several occasions he had asked her to come live with him, but she had always refused. 'My father would come after me,' she would say, or 'A bourgeois like you with a street rat like me? Don't be silly, Monsieur.' She did seem to be genuinely concerned that her father and his gang, the Patron-Minette, would harm Marius if they knew that he helped her. The first time that Eponine and Marius had gone for a walk together Eponine had insisted on walking ahead of him, 'You wouldn't want to be seen with the likes of me.' she'd said sadly. Marius had spent the next hour convincing her that he didn't care if he was seen with her, he didn't care what people would think. The Eponine that he saw by day was different then the sleeping one he saw now. Eponine always had her guard up, she always made herself seem strong (save for that night on the bridge), but now, as she lay with her head on his chest and her arm draped across his stomach, Eponine looked younger, more fragile. It was in that moment that Marius realised that Eponine had been forced to grow up too soon, she'd had a horrible life thrust upon her when she was so young, she'd been forced to fend for herself. Eponine was only 16, and that, thought Marius, was much too young to have to take care of yourself. So yes, Eponine was fragile, but she never let that show, not when she was awake. Only when she was sleeping did her guard go down. Marius could see how hard it must be for her to endure each day of living with her father, he could see what had brought her to the bridge. It was then, whilst watching her sleep, that Marius vowed that Eponine would not have a rough life forever. No, he would see to it that she have a better life.

Eponine twitched slightly in her sleep. She started to wake, mumbling something about needing to get her quota. She raised her head slightly.

"It's okay, Eponine. Go back to sleep." he said softly. She laid her head back down on his chest and closed her eyes, soon drifting off to sleep once more. Marius kissed her forehead lightly and just watched her sleep.

An hour later, Eponine awoke from a nightmare. She sat up, gasping, tears falling from her eyes. She'd had a nightmare of the night Montparnasse had raped her, she had relived it.

"Eponine?" said Marius, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She lied, keeping her head turned away from him so he couldn't see that she was crying.

"'Ponine," he said softly, using a nickname he'd thought of for her, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She lied again, but her voice broke. She turned her head and looked at him. He took in her tear-stained face and then wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest and cried softly. He realised, in that moment, just how broken Eponine was. Horrible things had happened to her and they'd broken her. He wondered if the pieces could ever be put back together again. He said nothing, just held her close as she cried. They stayed like that for awhile.

As Marius held her, Eponine came to a realisation: she loved him. _Oh!_ She thought as she came to this realisation. _When did that happen? When did I begin to love him? Oh! _Yes, she loved him. She loved him so much that she felt like her heart might burst, so much that it ached. _Should I tell him? _she asked herself, _No, no! Of course not! He would never feel the same way, he would never love me..._ The thought brought on fresh tears. Marius kissed her forehead lightly. _Well clearly he is not so repulsed by me... after all, he is holding me right now... maybe he'd feel the same way... No, silly Eponine, he could never love you! Look at yourself! You're absolutely filthy, your hair is in knots, you wear rags! Ah, but look at him! He is clean, his hair is smooth, his clothing has no rips or tears... He could never love me, no one could... _She looked up at him through her lashes and found that he was watching her. He smiled lightly at her. Her lips twitched upward in response. _I wonder if his lips are soft..._ she thought faintly. She wiped away the last of her tears.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded.

"It was just a nightmare." she told him. Marius knew that she would say no more on the matter. She pulled out of his arms and got up. "I'd best be going... I need to fill my quota..."

"'Ponine? You know you could always move in with me, then you'd never have to go back to your father."

"You know I couldn't do that, Monsieur... My siblings have already left us, my father would not let me leave that easily." she replied.

"We could leave Paris and never come back. I'd do anything if it meant that you would be safe."

"I could never ask that of you, Monsieur. You have friends here, you have school, that is too much for you to give up. You shouldn't... not for me." She told him. And with that, she left his apartment, taking to the streets. Marius followed her.

"Please, let me help you." he said to her. She smiled, turning to face him.

"Ah, but you have! Don't you see, Marius? You've helped me more than anyone else ever has. You've given me hope, you've given me reason to live. If not for you, I'd be dead." She kissed his cheek lightly. "You saved me, Marius." And she ran off.

_3 years later_

Eponine was sitting in the Cafe Musain, waiting for Marius. She looked up when the door opened. Enjolras walked in. She grinned.

"Hey Enjy." she greeted him, knowing full well how much he hated being called Enjy. Enjolras sighed and then nodded in her direction.

"Eponine." he said. "Waiting for Marius, I presume?"

"Naturally." she replied. Enjolras looked around the Cafe for his red flag that he had left here the night before. Eponine watched him, clearly amused. After half an hour of searching and not finding it, Enjolras went over and sat down across from Eponine.

"Where did you hide it?"

"Whatever are you talking about, Monsieur?" Eponine asked innocently.

"Where did you hide my flag?"

"What flag?"

"The red one."

"The red what?"

"The red flag."

"What about it?"

"Where did you hide it?"

"Hide what?" Eponine asked, fighting back laughter.

"Where did you hide my red flag?"

"Courfeyrac ate it." She replied. Upon hearing his name, Courfeyrac looked over.

"What?" he asked.

"Well apparently you ate my red flag." Enjolras said, clearly not amused.

"I did not such thing!" Courfeyrac protested.

"Yes you did." Eponine argued.

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Alright, I did!" Courfeyrac sighed, giving up. He walked away. Eponine grinned and looked at Enjolras.

"Told ya." She said, barely containing her laughter now. Enjolras sighed. "Hey Enjy–"

"Please don't call me that."

"–who sculpted you?" she asked him. Enjolras looked at her, clearly confused.

"What?"

"Who sculpted you? I mean, you _are_ a marble statue, so someone must have sculpted you."

"Eponine–"

"Was it Grantaire? I bet it was Grantaire." she said just as Marius walked into the Cafe Musain. Enjolras looked over when he heard the door open.

"Oh, Marius, thank God you're here!" he said exasperatedly. Marius raised an eyebrow. "She's the devil." Enjolras said with a glance at Eponine, who giggled. Marius laughed.

"Come on, 'Ponine, let's go for a walk. Enjolras looks like he's about to explode." Marius said, taking her hand and helping her up. Eponine grinned. They left the Cafe and walked down the streets of Paris.

**Aaaand there ya have it! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, so it might take me a bit longer to update. Not only am I writing multiple fanfics, but my computer has been doing some weird things. I apologise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or any of the characters.**

Eponine and Marius walked down the streets of Paris. Eponine no longer walked ahead of Marius the way she used to. After being friends with him for years, she had happily accepted the fact that he didn't mind being seen with her. As they walked, they talked about anything and everything. Marius told her a bit about law school and she would listen and occasionally ask a question or two... or fifty. She didn't really talk much about her life and Marius had long since learned not to ask. He already knew some things about Eponine's life, of course, like the fact that her father was abusive, or that her two siblings had run off quite some time ago and that was one of the reasons why she wouldn't run away. She worried that her father would hunt down both her and her siblings. Eponine did not want her siblings to live the life she lived.

Eponine glanced at all of the books Marius was carrying.

"'Ere what'cha do with all those books? I could have been a student too." she said. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't judge a girl on how she looks, I know a lot of things I do!" Marius smiled sadly.

"Ah, Eponine, the things you know you wouldn't find in books like these."

"I like the way you grow your hair." she said suddenly.

"I like the way you always tease." he replied. Eponine forced herself not to roll her eyes. _Mon Dieu, he's blind! Little he knows... little he sees!_

Suddenly, Marius froze. Eponine stopped walking and looked at him.

"Monsieur Marius?" he did not seem to hear her. She followed his gaze and found him looking at a girl who looked to be around the same age as Eponine. She had shoulder length blonde hair with a gentle curl and baby blue eyes. She was accompanied by an older man with grey hair and kind brown eyes. They were giving money to the poor. Eponine recognised the girl immediately, but it took a second for the name to register in her mind. _Colette... Courgette... Cosette! That's it... Cosette..._ She glanced at Marius again and saw the far away look in his brilliant green eyes. She looked back at Cosette and found that Cosette was staring at Marius dreamily. _No... no it can't be..._ Eponine thought miserably. Cosette smiled at Marius brightly, and then at Eponine pityingly. Cosette started to walk towards them, but then the old man, _her father?_, grabbed her arm and they ran off. Javert had walked by them. _Cosette... now I remember... Cosette... how can it be? We were children together, look what's become of me?_ Marius turned to face Eponine.

"Eponine, who was that girl?" he asked her.

"Some bourgeoise two-a-penny thing." she replied, looking away from him.

"Eponine, find her for me?"

"What will you give me?" she asked, smirking despite herself.

"Anything!"

"Got you all excited now... but God knows what you see in her! Got you all delighted now..." She noticed him reaching into his pocket and pulling out some money, "No, I don't want your money, _Sir._" She started walking away, quite offended that he had offered her money. She didn't accept charity. Sure she would pickpocket, but she did not accept charity. Marius grabbed her arm. She turned to face him.

"Eponine, do this for me. Discover where she lives, but careful how you go; don't let your father know. 'Ponine, I'm lost until she's found!" He begged her. Eponine sighed and nodded. Marius grinned and then started to walk away

"You see I told you so." She said. He turned back to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "There's lots of things I know." Marius smiled and then walked away. Eponine watched him go. "'Ponine... she knows her way around."

QQQ

It did not take all that long for Eponine to find out where Cosette lived, number 55 Rue Plumet, or, as it used to be known, Rue Blomet. She watched as Cosette sat in her garden. Then, she listened as Cosette began to sing.

"How strange, this feeling that my life's begun at last... this change... Can people really fall in love so fast?" Cosette had a high, soprano voice. "What's the matter with you, Cosette? Have you been too much on your own? So many things unclear, so many things unknown..." Eponine sighed. Marius wasn't the only one in love, Cosette felt the same way about him as he did about her... Eponine started to run back to the Cafe Musain, where she knew she would find Marius. _I could just tell him that I didn't find her. Maybe he'd give up hope... No... I couldn't do that to him, no matter how much it kills me... I have to bring him to her. Maybe he'll realise he doesn't love her... Oh, who am I kidding!? She's perfect! What with her neat hair and her pale skin and her lavish dresses... Of course he loves her..._ Tears fell from her soft hazel eyes. _Oh God... I'm going to die alone!_

Eponine arrived at the cafe and walked inside. She could hear Enjolras giving some big speech about the revolution approaching, so she just waited by the door. Marius' eyes found hers. As soon as Enjolras finished his speech, Marius ran over to her.

"Did you find her?" he asked, unable to contain his excitement. It broke Eponine's heart. She didn't answer his question, she just walked out of the cafe. Marius followed her. "So where does she live?" he asked her as he followed her through the winding streets.

"Rue Plumet." She replied.

"Oh, Eponine, thank you for finding her for me! She's perfect! She has such radiant and innocent beauty! In my life, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun. And my life seems to start as if something is over and something has barely begun!" he sang. It crushed Eponine's heart. He looked at her. "Eponine, you are the friend who has brought me here," he grabbed her hands and spun her around. Eponine couldn't help but laugh despite how heartbroken she was. "Thanks to you, I am one with the Gods and Heaven is near! And I soar through a world that is new that is free!"

"Every word that he says is a dagger in me..." she whispered, "in my life... there's been no one like him anywhere... anywhere where he is... If he asked, I'd be his." She looked at him and, for a moment, imagined what could have been if only Marius wasn't so blind. They had reached number 55 Rue Plumet. Eponine watched as the only man she had ever loved walked up to the gate to see the girl he had fallen in love with. Eponine sank to the ground as she listened to them declare their love for eachother. "He was never mine to lose, why regret what could not be? These are words he'll never say... not to me, not to me, not for me! His heart full of love... he will never feel this way!" She wiped away the tears that were rapidly falling from her eyes. "C'mon, Eponine, get a grip." she told herself. Then she heard harsh voices:

"This is his lair, I've seen the old fox around. He keeps himself to himself, he's staying close to the ground!"

"I smell profit here!"

"10 years ago he came and paid for Cosette, I let him go for a song. It's time we settle the debt! This will cost him dear!" Eponine gasped. It was her father and the Patron-Minette.

"What do I care who you should rob! Give me my share, finish the job!"

"You shut your mouth, you'll get what's yours. What have we here? Who is this hussy?"

Eponine had been discovered.

**Dun dun dun! Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I have returned! Here's the next chapter. I find it kind of sad that, with Les Mis originally being French, there are only 6 musical-verse Les Mis fanfics... and 5 of them are mine... Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters**

Babet grabbed Eponine and took a good look at her. Eponine knew that he recognised her immediately. He then turned to her father and said:

"It's your brat, Eponine." he let go of her and shoved her toward Monsieur Thenardier.

"Eponine, what are you doing here?" Thenardier growled, grabbing hold of her by her hair. She let out a yelp of pain.

"I could ask you the same question." Eponine said, glaring at him.

"_You_ don't ask questions, _fée_. **(1)**" Thenardier spat. Eponine rolled her eyes.

"This house, we gonna do it. Rich man, plenty of scratch." Montparnasse told her. Eponine's eyes widened. _This house? But... but Marius is in there..._

"What!? No, you can't!" She exclaimed.

"Who's going to stop us, _allumeuse._ **(2)**" Claquesous snarled. Eponine was at a loss. She was outnumbered; she certainly couldn't take them on by herself. She had to think...

"I'm gonna scream! I'm gonna warn them here!" she threatened. _If I scream then Marius and his... ugh... will be warned and maybe the cops will come. Heh, I'd like to see my father get thrown into jail. _

"You wouldn't dare, _bandante. _**(3) **I'll make you regret it. " Thenardier hissed, taking a step closer to her. He towered over her. He looked just about ready to kill her if she made even the slightest noise. Eponine wasn't scared of him. She just wanted to protect the man she loved. She faintly remembered hearing her father talk about his plans to rob a house, but she certainly hadn't thought it would be this house, of all places! _Voilà le soir qui tombe; héla! Trêve de rêve. Ils vont venir en nombre, l'attaque est pour cette nuit. _**(4)** She thought. _Oh I have to warn Marius..._

"Well I told you I'd do it!" Eponine screamed at the top of her lungs, a long and blood-curdling scream.

"Hide!" Brujon exclaimed, "_Archers _are coming! **(5)**"

"Leave her to me." Thenardier told his gang. As the Patron Minette fled, Thenardier advanced on his daughter. He swung his fist forward and knocked her in the jaw. Eponine stumbled back. "I told you you'd regret it." He shoved her to the ground and proceeded to kick her in the stomach. Eponine winced as his foot collided with her stomach. She deftly rolled out of the way to avoid another kick. He pinned her to the ground and started to shake her so that her head kept hitting against the ground. Eponine tried to get him off of her, but she was malnourished and a great deal smaller than her father. She started to feel dizzy and she could feel wetness dripping down her neck. She let out a moan of pain.

When Thenardier heard the sound of approaching footsteps, he got up and fled, thinking the police had arrived after hearing Eponine's scream. But before he left, he told Eponine not to return home. She no longer had a home. She would have to live on the streets. The footsteps did not belong to a cop, they belonged to Marius. He had heard the scream from within Cosette's garden and had recognised it as Eponine's.

Eponine slowly sat up.

"'Ponine? What happened? I heard you scream." he ran over to her and started to help her up, but she waved him away and got up by herself. She stumbled a bit and Marius caught her before she could fall back down.

"I'm fine." she muttered, pushing him away.

"'Ponine?" he said worriedly as she stumbled a bit again.

"I said I'm fine." she snapped. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him. _I don't need his help... he's already hurt me worse than I'm hurt now..._

"Eponine, what's wrong?"

"Nothing that concerns you, _Monsieur._"

"'Ponine, please."

"Well if you really must know, I was just beaten by my father as a consequence of saving your..." she had been about to say salope **(6)**, but she stopped herself, "... your _Cosette_." she said through clenched teeth, pronouncing Cosette's name the same as she would have said salope.

"What?"

"Him and his gang were going to rob the place." She didn't add that the only reason she'd scared them off was because of Marius. She hadn't wanted him to get hurt. She knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if Marius got hurt because of her own father. She hadn't cared about the consequences of ruining her father's plans. As long as Marius was alright, she would be fine.

She stumbled again, feeling rather dizzy. She lightly touched the back of her head and when she took her hand away it was covered in blood.

"You're hurt, you need some help." Marius said, his voice filled with worry. She was touched that he actually seemed to care about her. Regardless of how much it meant to her, she didn't want to accept his help. He wrapped an arm around her so she wouldn't fall. He could see she was about to protest. "'Ponine, please. Just let me help you." Eponine sighed in defeat.

"Well if you really must." she said, her voice becoming a little bit slurred. _I hope I don't have a... what's it called? Concuss... something. Is memory loss a sign of that? _

"C'mon, I'm sure Cosette has some bandages in her house. We could just–"

"I'm not going in there, Marius." Eponine cut him off. _I can't believe he just suggested... oh if he only knew how much he hurts me..._

"And why not?"

"She's the reason I'm injured in the first place." She told him. _Not to mention that she stole you from me... _she added mentally. Eponine could see black dots in her vision now and everything else seemed hazy. She leaned against Marius for support. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep her consciousness for much longer. Everything seemed to spin. She forced herself to focus on Marius, not that it really helped her to remain standing upright.

"Then what do you plan to do? You can't just leave your wound untended 'Ponine."

"Well," Eponine said, "it's not really a plan, but I think I'm going to pass out." She blacked out. Marius caught her and picked her up.

"Oh dear, 'Ponine." he murmured softly as he looked at her. He carried her to the gate to Cosette's garden, despite Eponine having said no to that.

"Cosette, love?" Marius said. Cosette walked into view.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed when she caught sight of Eponine. She opened the gate. "Bring her in." She led Marius into the garden and then into Number 55 Rue Plumet.

**Well I hope y'all enjoyed. I put a lot of work into this, especially with all of the argot. I actually learned argot just for this fanfic, since Victor Hugo used it quite a bit within the Patron Minette, so I thought I'd try my hand at it. Please review!**

**(1) **_**Fée **_**is argot (or otherwise known as slang) for the word **_**fille**_**, which in this instance means **_**daughter**_

**(2) **_**Allumeuse **_**is argot for **_**putain **_**which here means **_**whore **_**but can also mean– actually, I'd rather not have that word in my writing. **

**(3) **_**Bandante **_**a very rude argot word for **_**laide**_**, meaning **_**ugly**_

**(4) **_**Voilà le soir qui tombe; héla! Trêve de rêve. Ils vont venir en nombre, l'attaque est pour cette nuit. **_**Is a part of Eponine's other solo on the Original French Concept Album, **_**Voilà le soir qui tombe. **_**The line in English means **_**Behold the night that falls! Hela! **_**(this next part isn't really something you can translate exactly) **_**Truce of dreams. **_**(Told ya so)**_** They will come in numbers, the attack is for this night.**_

**(5) **_**Archers **_**is argot for **_**la police **_**meaning (surprise surprise) **_**the police**_

**(6) **_**Salope**_** is French for **_**bitch,**_** but you probably knew that already because I've used it before.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, so I'm in a writing mood right now so depending on how long it takes me to write this chapter, I may post a second and maybe a third.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters.**

When Eponine Thenardier woke, before she even opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong. She was... comfortable? _Far too comfortable..._ She opened her eyes and found a certain blonde-haired woman tending to her head wound. _Cosette._ She had just finished cleaning her wound. Eponine looked at her, wide-eyed. Cosette's eyes met hers. Cosette smiled at her.

"How are you feeling?" Cosette asked her.

"I've been better." Eponine replied, her head still throbbing rather painfully. "Where's Marius?" she asked.

"He's gone to get some bandages and pain medication for you." she replied. Eponine wondered if Cosette remembered her; they had been children together. Cosette seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I do not remember many things from my childhood, but I remember you Eponine Thenardier." she said. Eponine's eyes widened. "You were really quite awful to me, but I do not blame you for that. Children do as they are taught to, they follow their parents example. I do not blame you, Eponine, and I hold nothing against you. We can start anew." Eponine looked at her, not quite sure if she believed what she was hearing. "So what I'm saying is... Hello, my name is Cosette Fauchelevant. It is a pleasure to meet you." Eponine struggled for words for a moment. As much as she wanted to hate Cosette, she couldn't. She was a good person. _She... she deserves him... he will truly never love me..._

"P-Pleasure to meet you too." Eponine said uncertainly. _Can this really be happening? _Eponine asked herself. _Could it be possible that Cosette is actually a potential friend? But how could we be friends when we both love the same man? Yet I can't bring myself to hate her, not when she hasn't done anything against me. He loves her, she loves him. As much as I want that to change, there's nothing I can do. He was never mine to lose, anyway. Maybe I can just live knowing that he's happy. That's all that really matters, I guess. Maybe I just wasn't meant to have love in my life. Maybe I'm supposed to be alone... _

An older man, that Eponine recognised to be the man who had taken Cosette away all those years ago, walked into the room. It was Jean Valjean. He looked extremely worried. He had just seen Javert walking by the house, staring at it suspiciously. Valjean had assumed that Javert had finally found him. In reality, Javert was only suspicious because he had heard Eponine's scream.

"Cosette–" he started, but then noticed Eponine.

"I found her on the street, Papa." Cosette lied rather easily, "She was hurt and needed help, so I brought her here." Valjean smiled kindly at Eponine, though it was a strained smile.

"Cosette, you need to pack your bags. We need to move to England. Tomorrow to Calais and then a ship across the sea." he said, panic evident in his voice. He had not told Cosette of his past and he did not want her to find out.

"What? Papa, no we can't!"

"Hurry, Cosette, prepare to leave and say no more, tomorrow we'll away! Hurry, Cosette, it's time to close another door and live another day!" Valjean left the room to pack his own things. Tears filled Cosette's light blue eyes.

There was a light knock on the window. Marius had returned. Cosette opened the shutter and Marius climbed in.

"My love, what's wrong?" he asked her, seeing the tears in her eyes.

"My father and I are moving to England." Cosette replied, her tears spilling over. Eponine quietly got up, seeing that they needed to be alone since it would be their last night together. She climbed out the window, quite unnoticed by Cosette and Marius, who were looking into each others eyes, wondering if they would ever meet again. They were both heartbroken.

She ignored the pain and walked away from Number 55 Rue Plumet. It had started to rain.

She walked in the darkness, thinking of Marius. She did so quite often and she even liked to pretend that he was there with her. She would think of him walking with her, his hand holding hers, or his arms wrapped around her. Eponine would smile as he would whisper sweet nothings to her, as he would tell her that he loved her. Eponine would be happy on her own, pretending he was beside her. But then the illusion would shatter and would truly be all alone. Marius was never actually with her, he didn't actually love her. She had made it all up, he was never by her side. But she never stopped believing, not until now. Now Marius had Cosette, now he would truly never see her there. _But Cosette is leaving. _Eponine reminded herself. _Tomorrow she will be gone... will Marius follow her? Has he enough money? Am I a horrible person for hoping that he doesn't? I can't lose him... he may not love me, but he is the only friend I have..._ _I can't lose him..._

Eponine found herself in front of the Cafe Musain. It was an old habit of hers, really. Marius hung out there so often that Eponine was rather used to walking there to see him. But she knew that he would not be inside. He was with Cosette. Eponine didn't go inside the Musain, already knowing what she would find there. Grantaire would be drinking, Enjolras would be berating Grantaire for drinking Courfeyrac and Combeferre would be discussing politics, Joly would be complaining to Bossuet about some illness he claimed to have, and Jean Prouvaire would be writing a love poem. So Eponine sat down and leaned her back against the side of the Musain. She let the tears fall freely from her eyes. She was alone, she was tired, and she was in pain, both from an unrequited love and from an injury caused by her own father.

How long she sat there, she did not know, but when Enjolras walked out she looked up.

"Mademoiselle Eponine," he said, nodding toward her.

"Monsieur Enjolras." she replied.

"Marius is not here."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here? You look like you're waiting for something."

"I..." Eponine sighed, "I don't know." she admitted. Her head throbbed painfully.

"Mademoiselle, you are bleeding." Enjolras informed her, looking at her head wound.

"Oh, that." Eponine said, reaching a hand up to lightly touch her wound. She could feel the slippery blood. "That is nothing."

"Come inside, Mademoiselle Eponine, I'm sure Joly will have some bandages with him. You really shouldn't leave that unattended." he held out a hand. She took his hand and he helped up off the ground. He brought her inside. "Joly," he said. Joly turned away from his conversation with Bossuet (which, as Eponine had so rightly assumed, was about the flu that Joly claimed to have) and looked at him.

"Yes, Enjolras?"

"Do you have any bandages?"

"Oui. Why do you ask?"

"Mademoiselle Eponine is wounded." he replied. Joly grabbed his medical bag that he carried around with him everywhere and pulled out a roll of white bandages.

"Have a seat, Mademoiselle." Joly said as he guided her over to a chair.

"Thank you." Eponine said quietly as she sat down. Joly looked at her head wound.

"That needs stitches." he told her, "It is too deep for only bandages. But don't you fret, I have everything we need in my bag." he pulled out a needle and thread. Eponine shuddered when she saw the needle. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt... much..." Eponine grimaced. Courfeyrac walked over and held out his hand.

"Squeeze my hand whenever you feel pain, it will help to distract you." he said. Eponine smiled gratefully and took his hand. Joly started to stitch up her head. Eponine winced and squeezed Courfeyrac's hand. "Squeeze as hard as you can, it'll help. Trust me." Eponine did as told and squeezed his hand hard. Courfeyrac didn't even twitch in the slightest.

Soon enough, Joly had finished stitching and bandaging her wound. Eponine could have sworn she heard Courfeyrac mutter 'I think she broke my hand.' to Combeferre. She ended up staying there for a while after, just talking to some of the students. She had almost completely forgotten about Marius and Cosette. Almost.

**There ya have it, next chapter will be up soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters, we all know this. No one sue me.**

**P.S I am... BATMAN**

Eponine didn't end up leaving the Musain until around 3:00 in the morning. She was not quite as depressed as she had been, the students had cheered her up. Eponine smiled to herself. _I actually have friends..._ she thought, almost unable to believe it. _I won't be so lonely anymore. I, Eponine Thenardier, actually have more than one friend... I never thought that would happen. Who would want to be friends with a street rat, but then... well, there you are! _She grinned to herself. _Maybe life isn't so bad after all. Not if you have friends to endure it with._

Eponine looked around, wondering where she should go next. _I have no where to go, no one to turn to... I don't want to go to the Place Saint-Michel, my father and his gang go there too often... I could go to the Rue des Invalides, but that would take to long... Well, I'm fairly close to the Seine. Perhaps I'll spend the night under the bridge._ Eponine started on her way towards the Seine, trying her best not to think about a certain green-eyed law student. Instead, she just reveled in the thought that she now had friends. It amazed her. Her whole life–save for when she lived in Montfermeil–she had been treated horribly by everybody (except for Marius, of course), but now that had changed. It was aweful.

As Eponine walked by the Seine, she noticed a man standing on the bridge, looking as if he was about to jump into the merciless waters of the Seine. As she walked closer, she recognised him. Her face drained of colour and all the happiness that had possessed her only moments before had shattered. It was Marius. Marius was standing on the bridge. Marius was about to kill himself. Eponine broke into a run.

"Marius!" she cried out, but her voice was lost in the sound of the rain pouring down hard. She ran faster. "Marius!" This time he heard her. He had just been about to jump, but he stopped when he heard her call out his name. He turned to face her. Even through the rain, Eponine could clearly see that he had been crying, that his face was tear-stained.

"Eponine." he said quietly. She barely heard him.

"Marius! What are you doing!? You can't just... why would you even think of... are you crazy!? You can't kill yourself! Why would you even consider that as an option!?" Eponine shouted over the rain.

"Life without Cosette means nothing at all." he said to her. Tears filled Eponine's large hazel eyes. _This is all because of her... he wants to throw his whole life away because of her!_

"Your life means nothing, does it?" she asked, a sudden coldness in her voice. "You met her yesterday and now because she's not in your life it has no meaning? What about your friends, Marius, do they have no meaning to you? What about me? Do I mean nothing to you?" her voice had become very small. Tears fell from her eyes. _He doesn't care..._

"Eponine, I didn't mean it like that. I–"

"Then what did you mean, _Monsieur_?" she snapped venomously. "Despite what you may think, the world isn't going to end just because your precious Cosette is moving to England. Your life does have purpose..." She was clearly hurt by what he'd said. _I mean nothing to him, he only cares about his Cosette. All my life I've only been pretending. _"Your life without her means nothing..." she said with a bitter laugh, "Your life without her was everyday before yesterday, Marius, and now you're going to throw your whole life away for some blonde you've only known for a day. You'd really leave your friends that fast? You'd... you'd really leave me that fast?" Her voice was pained. He'd hurt her badly.

"Eponine, I didn't think–"

"No, you didn't think." she said icily. "You didn't think of who would miss you, you didn't think of any lives you might ruin by killing yourself. At least when I nearly killed myself I knew no one would miss me. But you! You didn't think of any of that. You have friends, Marius, you have a grandfather who pretty much worships you in his own way, you have me... But you didn't think of that, did you?" Tears continued to stream down her face.

"No." he admitted, "I didn't."

"Well that's obvious." she snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"I know and I am. It's just... I love her, 'Ponine. So much that it feels like my soul is on fire, it just hurts that I will probably never see her again. I'm sorry for what I nearly did, it was selfish."

"Yes, it really was."

"Please, can you ever forgive me?"

"You hurt me, Marius." she whispered. He barely heard her, but he knew what she said nevertheless.

"I'm sorry. You do have meaning in my life, you mean a lot to me, 'Ponine. I really am sorry. I don't want to leave you, I won't leave you. Please, can you forgive me?" he begged. "Look, I'll even get down on my knees to beg for your forgiveness." he did just as he said he would and got down on his knees. "Please forgive me, Eponine. I beg you for your forgiveness."

"Oh, alright." she said. "Just never do that again!"

"I won't, I promise." he said as he got up.

"You scared the hell out of me, Marius..." she whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry." he wrapped his arms around her. Eponine let the tears fall from her eyes as he held her close. _I can't believe he almost... I can't bear the thought of a life without him! He's my raison d'être _**(1)**_, without him I would be dead. I would have killed myself all those years ago. He gives my life meaning. He hardly even knows Cosette, yet he was already willing to die because she will leave for England. Will he ever notice how much I love him? _

**And there's the second one, I might post a third tonight. I'm not sure yet. Also, feel free to check out my new Les Mis roleplaying forum, The Barricades of Freedom. forum / The_Barricades_of_Freedom / 134621 / (but with no spaces and instead of., you use a period) Please review!**

**(1) **_**Raison d'être **_**is a French saying meaning **_**reason for existence **_**or, if translated literally, **_**reason to be**_**.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I apologise. I was going to update both Hope and Waiting Here either today, tomorrow, or Thursday, but I cannot. The reason why will shock you.**

**So as anyone who has read my stories will know, I like to write depressing things. Seriously, take a look at pretty much any of my fanfics and I can almost guarantee that at one point or another, it gets depressing. **

**Now for the reason why I can't update.**

**I am simply just too happy to write anything depressing right now. **

**I know, I know, it comes as a shock since I love being depressing in almost everything I write. I mean, most of the time, my goal is to make you cry while you read what I've written.**

**And now I'll explain why I'm happy.**

**Tomorrow I graduate elementary school. I will finally be done in the hell hole I've called a school for 10 years. I'll be going to a new hell hole known as a high school. I am really excited to be graduating. Secondly, today I recieved my report card... and I'm on the honour roll! Yeah! Thirdly, one of my classmates is throwing an after party, and another is having a pool party on Thursday. Excited for that too! Oh, and me and my friends sang a parody I made of One Day More today in the middle of class and that was awesome.**

**So yeah. I am just too happy to be depressing. **

**I apologise for not updating, but I will try to update on Saturday.**

**Sincerely,**

**MissFiyerabaMeponine**

**P.S PM me if you want to see the lyrics of the parody I wrote.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Y'know what's a really great way to start off Summer Vacation? Getting sick. (And yes, that was sarcasm). Oh, and having bad ear infections in both ears. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Les Mis and I still don't own the characters.**

Eponine walked with Marius back to the Gorbeau building and up the stairs. She followed him into his room. There was no way she was going to let him be alone that night, not after what he'd nearly done. She feared that he would try again and she wouldn't be there to stop him. Marius looked at the floor, refusing to meet Eponine's eyes. He was ashamed. He knew that he shouldn't throw his life away over Cosette. But he knew he was going to miss her so much. He knew that he would probably never see her again. That killed him, for he loved her. He loved her so much, but she would be gone by the time the sun had risen.

Still not looking at Eponine, Marius walked over to the sofa and sat down. He knew he'd never be able to forget the look of hurt he'd seen in Eponine's eyes only moments before. It was hard for him to believe that it had been he who had cause her pain. Of course Marius cared about her, of course she meant a lot to him. She was his best friend. Marius truly did feel bad for nearly killing himself, he knew that it would cause Eponine unspeakable pain (he knew this, yet did not know that she loved him, which of course would only add to that pain). In truth, Marius hadn't thought about who he'd be leaving behind, he'd only been thinking of Cosette. _Cosette... Oh! I love her so! What cruel fate that we should meet and fall in love only to have her leave so suddenly! My beautiful Cosette... Oh how I'll miss you..._

Eponine watched him sadly. _What ever would I do if he had succeeded in killing himself. I love him with all that I am. If he died... well, so would I! I would die inside... and... I just know that the pain, the grief, would be unbearable. If he died... I'd follow soon after. My Marius... no. Not _my _Marius, _her_ Marius. He loves _her_ and she loves him. Even if she is moving away, that won't change. He'll never love me. _Tentatively, Eponine walked over to Marius and sat down next to him. She could see the tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. As much as it pained her, she knew that he loved Cosette and now he was grieving because Cosette would soon be gone from France. She could see the tears rolling down his cheeks. Eponine gently wrapped her scrawny arms around him, trying to comfort him. Marius rested his head against her shoulder and let the tears fall. Eponine lightly stroked his hair.

"I love her, 'Ponine... I love her so much..." he whispered, his voice shaking with tears. Eponine tried not to wince.

"I know you do, Marius." she whispered back, not knowing what else to say.

"I can't believe she's leaving... and... and I'll never see her again!"

"Well now, you don't know that." she told him. She tried to ignore how much it hurt her and tried only to comfort him. She placed his feelings above her own. He was all that mattered to her. "She might come back some day..." Marius' face lit up with hope. Eponine died a little inside.

"Thank you, Eponine. Thank God I still have you!"

"You'll always have me..." she whispered so quietly that Marius barely heard what she'd said.

"What was that?" he asked. Eponine smiled lightly and shook her head.

"Nothing Monsieur, now off to bed." she said as she stood up, pulling him up with her.

"I'll sleep on the sofa, you can have the bed." he told her. She shook her head again.

"No, no, you're sleeping on the bed."

"'Ponine, I insist..." he said as she pulled him towards the bed.

"Nope. Now go to bed, Monsieur. You've had a long day." Marius smiled tiredly and kissed her on the forehead, before laying down on the bed. Eponine walked back to the sofa and layed down.

"Good night, 'Ponine." Marius called out to her.

"Good night, Monsieur Marius." she replied.

Some time during the night, Marius woke from a nightmare. He'd dreamed that Cosette had moved to England and had fallen in love with another man. Then she and that man had moved back to Paris and they'd mocked him. Silent tears fell from Marius' eyes. Cosette was gone. He might never see her again. She would fall in love with someone else and he... he would be alone. Marius tried to stifle a sob, but failed. Eponine, who was a very light sleeper, awoke, having heard his sob.

"Monsieur Marius? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he lied.

"No, you aren't." she said as she got up and walked over to the bed. Marius sat up. Eponine, even in the darkness, could see that he was crying. She sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around him. "You'll be okay, Monsieur. It'll get easier, you'll move on."

"I won't forget her, 'Ponine! I won't!"

"Shh, I know you won't. And that's okay. I'm not saying to forget her, Marius. But you need to accept the fact that she _is_ moving to England and that it _is_ okay for you to try to move on."

"I don't want to move on... I want to be with her..."

"I know, Marius. But you can't. Not right now." she told him gently. "If she does move back to Paris, then... well, then you'd be able to..." Eponine had to force herself to say these words, "... to be with her. But right now, you can't."

"Should I wait for her?"

"No, Marius. You shouldn't wait for her. You should try to move on, because there is always that chance that you would be waiting forever. I know you don't want to think of that, but it's true. Yes, there's a chance she might return, but there's also a chance that she might not."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, 'Ponine..." Marius whispered, wrapping his arms around her. Then he fell back, already asleep. Had he been awake, he would have heard Eponine shakily whisper:

"Without me, your world would go on turning."

**And there ya have it. This is probably the last chance I'll have to update this until I return from a 3 week course. I'll be returning on the 26th of July, so you can expect an update sometime around then. Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I feel kind of bad since this is my second author's note and it's barely been a week. However, this needs to be said.**

**I will not be updating any of my stories for the next three weeks as I am leaving for a three week course in CTC Blackdown and I will not have access to my computer or the internet, except for maybe on Sundays, when I will be allowed to return home for the day. But you really shouldn't expect updates on Sundays as I will be spending them with my family (and eating real food :P)**

**I'm really sorry that I won't be able to update.**

**I will be returning home on July 26th, you can probably expect at least one update the week after I return home.**

**For anyone that wants to know, the course I am attending is a Basic Pipe and Drum course at, as I've said, CTC Blackdown (CTC = Cadet Training Centre). I will be learning to play the bagpipes and I am very excited. Blackdown is up at CFB/BFC Borden (CFB = Canadian Forces Base, or for the French, Base des Forces Canadiens), which isn't far from where I live. For anyone who noticed what I said above about "eating real food" on Sundays, that's because during the three week course, I'll either be eating MREs/IMPs (MRE = Meals Ready to Eat, IMP = Instant Meal Package) or I'll be eating at the mess hall. Either way, the food is rather disgusting (Especially the MRE crackers! *Shudder* They are absolutely disgusting! And they're hard to break! They taste like cardboard).**

**Anyways, I hope that you won't mind too much that I will not be updating for the next three weeks, I do apologise. **

**Have a great Summer, everyone, I'll see y'all in three weeks!**

**Sincerely,**

**MissFiyerabaMeponine/Ashley**

**P.S For those of you who are still interested in the One Towards the Other sequel, no I have not given up on it. I have most of the plot figured out, but I probably won't start working on it until I've finished some of the stories I'm currently working on. **

**P.S.S For any of you who have read Une Pauvre Fille, I'm thinking of writing a companion story to that, which will focus on Marius and Éponine's married life (thanks to I Am Your Singer 2006 for that suggestion).**

**P.S.S.S (Okay, last one) I also have in mind an idea for a fanfiction based off of the Les Mis anime, Shoujo Cosette (A Girl Named Cosette), which will be called Shoujo Éponine (A Girl Named Éponine).**

**P.S.S.S.S (Okay, I lied. But this one really is the last one!) I'm also planning another fanfic called The Boy Nextdoor (no relation to my other fanfic, The Girl Nextdoor) which will be from Éponine's point of view (I believe it was I Am Your Singer 2006 who requested that I write a story in first person). Though, of course, this and Shoujo Éponine will have to be put on hold until I've finished writing some stories and won't be started until after the One Towards the Other Sequel (I still don't have a name for it) and the Une Pauve Fille companion story. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my lovelies! I have returned! First and foremost, I would like to apologise for the delay in updating any of my stories. I've had quite a few things to do this week. I was going to start writing this the other night, but then I found out from Rogers that one of the computers in my house had a virus. As it turns out, both my HP laptop and my netbook (which is what I use to write and update stories) had viruses. In fact, my netbook had two. However, that's been taken care of, so now I can update (yay!)**

**Also, I was going to update Les Méchants, but I have a bit of writer's block there, so y'all will have to wait just a bit longer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters**

A couple of weeks had passed since Cosette's departure. Marius was still a wreck most of the time, though he wasn't nearly as bad as the night Eponine had found him on the bridge. He had definitely strated to recover. He had started attending his classes again and, though he still missed one or two, he started attending the meetings of Les Amis de l'ABC again. While Marius was in class, Eponine would normally wait for him at the Cafe Musain, where she would normally chat with one of Les Amis. Some of them, like Enjolras, had finished with their studies, while others, like Lesgles or Grantaire, had either been kicked out or had simply lost interest.

So, one day, while Marius was in class, Eponine sat at a table in the small Cafe.

"I still haven't found my red flag." Enjolras said as he sat down across from Eponine.

"That's because Courfeyrac ate it." Eponine replied, giving the same answer she had given him several weeks before. Enjolras groaned. He had hoped that that wouldn't be her answer.

"Eponine, please just tell me where you hid it."

"Well where did you look?"

"Everywhere!"

"What about Courfeyrac's stomach, because that's where it is." Eponine told him, trying her best to keep a straight face. Enjolras sighed in frustration. "How much do you want that flag, Enjy?" she asked him, grinning.

"Very much so."

"Well how much?"

"On a scale of one to ten, eleven."

"Well that's not very high."

"I need that red flag, Eponine."

"Does your life depend on it?" she asked, though she knew full well that it didn't.

"Well, no–"

"Then technically, you don't _need_ it." Eponine giggled, unable to hold back her laughter anymore. Seeing the look of frustration on his face, Eponine grinned and then got up and walked over to the corner of the Cafe, where she knelt down and pulled up a loose piece of the flooring. There, in the floor, was the red flag. Eponine took it out of its hiding spot and then placed the piece of flooring back in the floor. "And you said you looked everywhere." she said with a laugh as she walked back over to Enjolras and handed him his flag. Enjolras shook his head and gave a slight laugh.

"You really are the devil, Eponine." he said. Eponine laughed.

"And don't you forget it." she replied with a grin. Marius walked through the door of the Cafe. Eponine's grin widened, causing Enjolras to laugh quietly. He and the other Les Amis de l'ABC members had all noticed Eponine's feelings for Marius as they were quite obvious. Though, Marius himself had not noticed. Whenever Marius was not present, Les Amis de l'ABC often teased her about it. "Hello, Monsieur." Eponine greeted him.

"Hello 'Ponine." he replied, and then, nodding at Enjolras, he added, "Hello Enjolras." He looked at Eponine again. "Would you mind walking with me, for a little while, 'Ponine?" he asked her.

"Of course, Monsieur." she said as she stood up. Marius smiled slightly, though Eponine noticed that the smile was strained. She followed him out of the Cafe and they walked through the streets.

"I saw a girl that looked like her today..." he said quietly.

"Like Cosette?" Eponine asked. He nodded.

"For a moment, I thought it was her. I was about to go and talk to her, but she left and I didn't have the chance." Eponine wasn't quite sure of what to say, so she went with:

"I'm sorry, Monsieur."

"I miss her so much..."

"I know you do, Monsieur. But it will get easier, I promise you." she said. Marius smiled.

"Thanks, 'Ponine."

"Anytime, Monsieur." Marius smiled again. Then his smile turned into a mischevious grin.

"Race you to the bakery!" he said as he took off running in the direction of the bakery. Eponine laughed and chased after him, quickly catching up to him and then running ahead.

"I'm gonna win." she sang. She heard him laugh behind her. Marius sped up a bit so that he was running right next to her. Eponine could see that he was almost out of breath. "Getting tired, Monsieur?"

"No, not at all." Marius replied, slightly breathless.

"Good, neither am I." she said. She sped up even more, though she still wasn't running her fastest.

Surprising neither of them, Eponine won the race to the bakery. She waited for Marius to catch up and once he did, she waited for him to catch his breath.

"I think you may have won." Marius said after he'd caught his breath. Eponine grinned.

"Told ya I was gonna win." she said with a laugh. Marius laughed as well.

"Come on, then, I'll buy you a bun from the bakery." he said. Eponine, though she normally would have told him not to waste money on her, nodded and followed him into the bakery, a large smile still on her face. Marius bought three freshly baked buns and gave two to Eponine, leaving one for himself. Eponine was about to protest, but he cut her off, saying simply: "You need it more than I do." Eponine smiled and ate the first bun rather quickly and pocketed the second, deciding that it would be best to save it for later. Marius ate his bun as well and they continued to walk. As they walked, Marius took Eponine's hand and twirled her around, causing her to giggle and blush slightly. They continued to walk, Marius not letting go of her hand, which Eponine had no objections to. They talked about many things. Marius told Eponine about his classes, and Eponine told Marius about where she hid Enjolras' flag. After a moment of amiable silence, Marius said to Eponine, "Thank you, 'Ponine, for being there for me. I don't know how I would have gotten through, well, everything if you hadn't been there." Eponine smiled at him.

"I'll always be there for you, Monsieur."

"Thank you, 'Ponine."

"Anytime."

**I know it was short, but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. The next chapter should be up soon, possibly tonight and will probably be longer and darker (but with some fluff). Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Read now, talk later.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters. And I don't own any references that I make.**

Marius found it difficult to sleep that night. Even when he did sleep, his dreams were very confusing. He dreamed that Cosette had returned, but just as he was about to kiss her, she turned into Eponine. After a couple attempts at sleep and after having the same dream twice, Marius decided that he was unable to sleep just then. He got up and got dressed. He pulled on his rather worn jacket and then went for a walk. The streets were almost completely deserted, but that was normal as it was nearly half past one. Marius turned down an unfamiliar street. He immediately regretted it as he found himself near the docks, where the prostitutes found their work.

He felt someone grab hold of his arm. Marius turned and found himself face to face with a young girl that couldn't be any older than 16. She was wearing a rather low-cut and revealing tattered old dress and she had some make up on her face, that Marius could tell had been there for a while. The young girl smiled at him, revealing that she was missing a few teeth.

"Hello, Monsieur." she said in a flirtatious voice. "Need someone to keep you company tonight?"

"No, thank you." Marius replied, though he handed her a couple of francs anyway, feeling bad for the poor girl who had been, most likely, forced into prostitution. And at such a young age! Marius could hardly believe that this youth of 16 had to do such a thing in order to survive. The girl thanked him and then went away in search of more 'customers'. Marius continued his walk, receiving several more offers from other prostitutes, but he turned them all down. Then he heard it. An awful, ear-splitting scream that pierced through the night air. Marius turned in the direction of the awful cry and saw a girl being dragged toward the docks. He could not see her face, but he could tell that she was not very old. Only a year or so younger than Marius himself.

"Please! Please no!" the girl begged, her voice choked with sobs. Marius knew that he recognised that voice. "Please! Oh God, please no!" Whoever had been dragging the girl had just taken money from some man and the man had grabbed hold of the girl's scrawny arms. "Let go of me! Let go! Please, don't do this!" As the man dragged the girl off to do what he had payed for, it clicked in Marius' mind. He ran after the man, though he had not seen where the man had turned. Marius needed to find him. He could not let that man touch Eponine, for that's who the girl was. But as it turned out, Marius had gone the wrong way. He could not see the man or Eponine anywhere. He turned around and went the other way, searching desperately for them, hoping that he wasn't already too late, that the man hadn't already done anything to her. Then he stopped and listened. He heard muffled sobs.

"Eponine!" he called out. He recieved no reply, but as he broke into a run, the sobs became louder. He was getting closer. He kept his eyes wide open, as if he was afraid that he would walk right past her. Then he found them. The man was on top of her, his pants around his ankles, and Eponine's skirt was hitched up to her waist. She was sobbing uncontrollably. The man's lips were on her neck and her eyes were shut tight. "Get off her." Marius growled. The man looked up, but other than that, he did not move. "I said get off her." Marius repeated. Eponine opened her eyes and looked at him.

"G'way, I payed for the l'il slut." the man replied. Eponine tried to get away, but he had her pinned to the ground.

"This is the last chance I will give you, get off her or I will make you get off her." Marius threatened. The man didn't move. Marius walked over and grabbed him, pulling him off of Eponine. He slammed him into the wall. The man hit his head rather hard and passed out, falling to the ground with a resounding thump. Eponine hastily smoothed down her skirt. She was still sobbing uncontrollably and she was shaking quite a bit. Marius turned and slowly walked over to her. He knelt down next to her. "'Ponine?" he whispered soflty. She looked at him, tears streaming down her face. He gently wiped away her tears. She flinched. Marius gazed at her with profound compassion. "It's alright, 'Ponine, I won't hurt you and I won't let anyone else hurt you." he said. Eponine wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest. Marius held her close, gently rubbing her back. "You're alright now, 'Ponine. Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around." he murmured. He glanced at the unconscious man. "We should probably go before he wakes." Marius suggested. Eponine nodded slightly. Marius stood and then picked Eponine up. For once, she didn't argue. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. He carried her back to his flat, kissing the top of her head every so often. She didn't say a word. Silent tears continued to fall from her eyes. Marius, holding Eponine in one arm, opened the door and carried her inside. He sat down with her on the sofa and just held her. Neither spoke. Words were not needed. Eponine was comforted by his mere presence. After a while, Eponine broke the silence.

"Thank you for finding me, Monsieur." she whispered shakily. "If you hadn't... well... he would only have been the first..."

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly happened tonight? Why did your father, or, at least I'm assuming that it was your father, drag you to the docks?" he asked.

"I... I didn't get him enough money..." she replied. "He wasn't happy..." Marius held her a bit closer.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, 'Ponine. I swear to you, I won't ever let anything like that happen to you ever again." he told her. She nodded, though she was still shaking quite a bit. "I'm here." he whispered.

"That's all I need to know." she replied. She rested her head against his shoulder and looked at him. He looked back at her.

"I'll always be here for you, 'Ponine." he whispered, his face mere inches from hers. She managed a slight smile. She found herself leaning in towards him. Their lips were almost touching. Eponine was surprised to find that Marius did not move back, but instead moved forward. Their lips were so close. Then there was a knock at the door. Neither moved. The knocking continued.

"You'd better get that." Eponine breathed. Marius sighed slightly and then stood. He walked over to the door and opened it.

Standing there was Cosette.

**Aww, so close! They almost kissed! And now Cosette's back! Whatever shall become of Eponine and Marius? **

**Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys. So here's the next chapter. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't that great, my mind is far from easy right now. **

**Also, I should probably warn you now that this is going to get really depressing as well as a bit dark. But in the ending will be happy... probably... To quote Albus Dumbledore, "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times."**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters, nor do I own the quote or character above ^^**

"Cosette?" said Marius. "Is it really you?" Cosette smiled brightly.

"Yes, Marius." She said in her soft, breathy voice that reminded Marius of melted gold. "It's me, I'm here." Marius embraced her, holding her close to him. She hugged him back. Marius was filled with such joy. His angel, his love, his everything had returned! The world made sense again and seemed to be a brighter place filled with songs and happiness. "Papa saw how unhappy I was in England." she breathed, "So he decided we should return to Paris."

"I'm glad."

"As am I." she said. She kissed him softly.

Eponine closed her eyes. She didn't want to see that. She and Marius had been so close... _We almost kissed, _Eponine thought, _if Cosette hadn't shown up then we would have kissed._ Eponine buried her face in her hands. She'd already had an awful night. She hadn't thought that it could get any worse. But it had. Her dreams had been crushed yet again. Now she was broken; shattered, possibly beyond repair. She did not see any way that she could be fixed. Her heart had been broken yet again. Could the pieces ever be put back together after being broken so many times? Isn't there a point where it just can't be mended anymore? What was she to do? What could she possibly do? Cosette had returned. Marius would never love her now, not when he had his Cosette back. _Now I'm all alone again..._ Then Cosette caught sight of Eponine sitting there on the sofa.

"Is she alright?" Cosette asked Marius.

"Not quite." Marius replied. Then he quietly added, "I'll explain later." Eponine shakily stood up.

"I... I should probably be going." she said.

"No, 'Ponine, you can't! It's not safe!" Marius exclaimed, pulling away from Cosette's loving embrace and walking over to Eponine. She looked at him. "Your father and his gang could still be out there."

"I know how to hide." Eponine said, though she shuddered anyway.

"Please, 'Ponine. It's dangerous. At least stay here for tonight. I don't want them to hurt you." he begged her.

"Marius is right, Eponine." Cosette said, "They could really hurt you." She was thinking of the last time Eponine had been hurt by her father. The same night Cosette's father had decided they should move to England.

Eponine, though she desperately didn't want to be with Marius at the moment, gave in. She knew exactly what would happen if her father or one of the Patron Minette found her: she would be sent back to the docks. Montparnasse would probably end up as one of her 'customers'. She shuddered at the very thought. She did not want that to happen, not again.

"Fine." she said, "I'll stay." Marius smiled slightly, thankful that she wouldn't be going back out that night.

"Papa is waiting for me outside," Cosette said, "I should go before he starts to worry." She said her goodbyes to both Marius and Eponine, then kissed Marius lightly and left. Marius smiled again. Cosette was really back! His smile vanished, however, when he looked at Eponine and found that she had started to shake again. She was staring at the ground and Marius could see that there were tears in her eyes.

"'Ponine?" Marius said, taking a few steps closer to her. She didn't answer. She just buried her face in her hands and began to sob. She sank to her knees. "'Ponine," Marius said again as he knelt down next to her. He gently wrapped his arms around her as she cried out of sheer desperation. He could see, now, just how broken she was, how destroyed.

"I'm o-only 18 y-years old... wh-why do b-bad things keep h-happening to me?" she asked through sobs.

"I don't know..." Marius whispered.

"Wh-What have I d-done to deserve this?"

"Nothing, 'Ponine. Nothing. I wish that I could undo every bad thing that's ever happened to you."

"Then y-you'd be undoing m-my wh-whole life." she told him as she looked into his bright green eyes.

"Don't say that. There must be some good things."

"Well... there's m-meeting you, becoming your f-friend." she said quietly. _Then there's also falling in love with you and having my heart crushed._ she added mentally. "A-And meeting Les Amis d-de l'ABC."

"You see, there's always something good." he said before lightly kissing her forehead. "It's late," he said, "we should sleep." Eponine nodded. Marius stood up and then helped Eponine up. "You take the bed, I'll take the couch."

"Marius?"

"Yes?"

"W-Would you mind st-staying with me tonight?" she asked. She worried that she would have nightmares. She knew that she would sleep better with Marius beside her, and even if she did have nightmares, he would be there.

"Sure, 'Ponine." he said. He followed her over to the bed, where they both layed down. Marius gently wrapped his arms around her. Eponine kept her head turned away from him so that he could not see the tears that continued to fall from her eyes. _We almost kissed... but then she came back... _More tears fell from her eyes, _My heart can only take so much, can only be broken so many times. How does he not notice? The way I act around him, the way I talk to him... even the way I look at him! I do it all with love... But he never notices that. He's blind to what's right in front of him. Or... or maybe he has noticed. Maybe he's noticed and just doesn't feel the same way. Maybe he just doesn't want me to know that he knows. Could that be it? _She turned her head to look at Marius and found that he had already fallen asleep. _He doesn't know... I don't know how I know that, but I do. If he knew... he would act awkward around me. He definitely doesn't know._ She thought as she looked at his arms, which were still wrapped around her waist. She sighed softly. _Why did we almost kiss?_ And, thinking of that, Eponine soon fell into a deep sleep. She had only one dream, which repeated itself over and over. She dreamed of the docks.

**Not very long, I know. But as I said, my mind is far from easy right now. Anyways, please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello. Here's the next chapter. I'll warn you now, this chapter will get **_**very**_** dark. And when I say dark, I mean dark. This is probably the darkest and most depressing chapter I've ever written and will approach the dark subject known as despair.**

**Consider yourself warned.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables, nor do I own the characters.**

During the next couple of weeks, Cosette and Marius were inseparable. Everywhere they went, they went together. They smiled, they laughed, they were truly happy together. Cosette had told Jean Valjean about Marius and, though at first he'd had doubts, he could not deny their happiness. Apart from his classes, Marius spent every waking moment with Cosette. When they spoke to the other, they spoke in those soft and gentle murmurs known to lovers. Anyone who saw them could tell that they were so in love, could see that they were happy. Eponine heartbrokenly observed all of this from the shadows.

Eponine saw Marius every day, though he did not see her. Eponine would remain hidden as she watched Marius and Cosette. They were so happy, so in love... it broke the poor girl's heart. She was crushed, broken, shattered. There was no happiness left in her dark, miserable world. She was alone. Marius had made no attempt to find her or to speak to her. He was too distracted by love. He barely even thought of the girl he called his best friend. He did not notice as she trailed behind him and Cosette, as if she were their shadow. He did not notice her, barely even thought of her, and most of all, he did not love her. It broke her heart and darkened her world. Her world was desolate and cold. She was unloved by all. Eponine often found herself wondering if anyone would miss her if she died, if she were to kill herself. Often, she would find the darkness overwhelming. It pulled down on her and sat heavy on her chest. It was hard to breathe, hard to go on. There was no light, no sun, no happiness. Her world was filled only with misery and she did not see what the point of life was. It was lost on her, now that she had lost Marius. It truly did seem, to her, that she had lost Marius. She hadn't spoken to him since the night Cosette had returned. The next morning, she had left before he was awake. He had not thought of her since. That can be understood, though, when one is filled with such happiness, such love that their world stops turning and all they see is their loved one. But that only proved Eponine's theory that, without her, Marius' world would go on turning... and it had.

"I love him..." Eponine whispered to herself as she walked through the streets. Night had fallen and Marius and Cosette had parted, each returning to their respective homes. "But only on my own." She was crushed. The poor girl only wanted to be loved; to be wanted. But no one did. No one loved or wanted Eponine Thenardier. Her life was very lonely indeed. Every day, she was haunted by 'what ifs'. The most prominent one was 'what if Marius and I had kissed?'. This thought followed her as she followed Marius and Cosette. _Maybe he could have loved me... maybe he would have realised it... But no, he could never love me now. He has Cosette. His Cosette came back to him at the worst possible moment. He nearly kissed me... he must have felt something or we wouldn't have come so close. I love him! But he has her... I watch them be happy together and it kills me. Does that make me a bad person? Shouldn't I be happy that he is? I can't help it... _

Eponine turned a corner, walking down a dark alleyway. She'd been sleeping on the streets for the past couple of weeks as she didn't want to return home, she didn't want to return to her father. As she walked down the alleyway, she noticed the form of a man, standing in the shadows. Eponine hesitated, not sure if the man would try to stop her. She had long since learned not to trust men (apart from Marius, of course), and she did not trust the unknown man who stood in the shadows. Then, the man stepped out of the shadows. It was Montparnasse.

"Hello Eponine." he said. Eponine took a step back. "Aw, why so cold?" He took a couple of steps towards her so that, now, he was right in front of her. "All alone, are you?" he asked, though he already knew she was. "Has the student boy abandoned you?"

"Leave me alone." She snapped.

"Are you sure you really want that? Don't you want some one to keep you company?" he asked her, seeing the desperation in her eyes, the longing for human contact. He flashed her a smile.

"Just go away."

"I can keep you company. Unlike that Marius of yours, I actually want to be around you. I want to be with you, Eponine." Montparnasse said, his eyes shining. "And I know that you want that, to be wanted. But your Marius... he doesn't love you. No, I've seen him with that blonde. She's very pretty. And I've seen you trailing behind him like a lost puppy. He'll never love you, Eponine." he taunted. "I doubt he even values your friendship."

"Stop it..."

"When was the last time you talked to him? When was the last time he even noticed you? He doesn't love you and he never will. No one will ever love a street rat like you, no one will ever look at you and want you. Except for me. I want you Eponine, and I can make you feel loved." he pushed her against the wall. "Don't you want to feel loved, Eponine?" he asked her, his face inches from hers. A few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Please stop..." she whispered.

"Ah, but you don't want me to stop. You like this feeling. You like feeling wanted. It's all you've ever wanted, to be wanted." he pressed his lips to hers. She did not stop him. _He's the only person that will ever want me... no one else does... Why should I even bother stopping him? But then... well he _is_ Montparnasse... I could never let him... but he's the only person who'll ever want me..._ His lips moved to her ear, "I'm the best you've got. I'm the best you'll ever get. Marius will never love you, will never want you. Not like I do." he breathed, knowing full well how much he was torturing her. He kissed her neck and, once again, she did not stop him. She was desperate. She wanted to be loved, to be wanted more than anything in the world. She needed that. "I can love you, Eponine. I'm the only one who ever will." He kissed her again and she did not stop him. She did not stop him at all for the rest of the night. She let him have her. And, by the end of the night, when Montparnasse had decided he was finished with her, Eponine truly hated herself.

**And there it is. Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's the next chapter. This chapter will also be quite dark, but after this (well actually towards the end of this chapter) it will get lighter... well, kind of...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables or the characters, I just torture them :P**

Eponine layed on the ground for a while after Montparnasse had left her. She wept bitterly as she thought of what she had let him do to her, in a moment of weakness. _I'm no better than a whore... _she thought, _I can't believe that I let him... But everything he said was true, every word..._ She wiped away some of her tears. _Some people are meant to be alone, some people don't deserve happiness, some people live their lives unloved by anybody... I'm one of those people. Oh God! How I yearn to be loved! But no one could love somebody as pathetic as me. What is life without love? Hardly anything._ Eponine stood, wiping away her tears. Then, almost as if in a trance, she found herself walking the familiar path down to the Seine. _I see no reason to live._

...

Now Marius, though he was truly very happy with Cosette, had not completely forgotten about the girl he called his best friend. Though, it should be noted, he actually tried not to think of her. He did this for reasons that were confusing even to himself. When he thought of the gamine, he thought of how he'd felt towards her when he'd almost kissed her. Those feelings would resurface and he would have to push them away. He was with Cosette. He couldn't think of Eponine like that, he just couldn't. He loved Cosette, didn't he? Cosette. Beautiful, gentle, and kind Cosette. When she had left him he had wanted to kill himself, so much did he love her. But in her absence, he had grown even closer to Eponine... he had almost kissed her! But then Cosette had returned, his beautiful lark had come back to him. But he hadn't even noticed how this had crushed Eponine. He hadn't realised how much happiness he brought her by merely talking to her. Marius was blind in more ways than one; he was blind to the fact that Eponine loved him, he was blind to the fact that she needed him, and lastly, and perhaps the most important, he was blind to the fact that he, Marius, loved her. He had not realised this as he was almost certain that he loved Cosette. _But then, _Marius would think, _why do I keep thinking of how I felt about Eponine when we almost kissed... No, stop that. I can't think about that._ And he would then distract himself with whatever he could.

On occasion, Marius dreamed of the night he had almost kissed Eponine. He would then wake and, more often than not, he would consider going in search of her. But then he would think of Cosette, the memories would temporarily vanish, and he would not seek her out. He did, even if he himself did not realise it, love Eponine, but he also loved Cosette. Cosette, whom he had only known for a short amount of time; Cosette, who was purity in it's very essence; Cosette, who gave to the poor, just like her father; Cosette, who was the epitome of beauty. He loved her, yes. Well, that's what he thought anyway.

Marius, with thoughts of Eponine refusing to leave him alone, decided to go for a walk, hoping that, perhaps, the cool night air would help him to clear his thoughts. And so, he took to the narrow streets of Paris. He didn't really pay attention to where he was walking, nor did he have a destination. He walked without much thought on the matter, his mind occupied by thoughts of Eponine. He felt kind of guilty for thinking about her in the way that he was. He was, of course, thinking about how deep his feelings were for her, though even he did not know their full depth.

Without really knowing how he got there, Marius found himself nearing the Seine. That's when he saw her. She was about to jump. He was too far away to see her face, but he recognised her all the same. He ran forward and caught her by the waist right before she was about to jump. She turned to look at him. Marius could tell that she'd been crying, but also that she no longer was.

"Eponine, have you gone mad!?" he exclaimed. "Why would you even consider... how could you even... why would you do this?" he asked her. For a moment, she didn't answer, she just seemed to study him. And then,

"Oh how alone I've been!" she exclaimed, "I've been friendless, homeless, I've not even had someone to talk to! No one looked for me, no one cared about me. No one wanted me... but he did, Montparnasse... At least, he said he did and I... well I... I let him..." she paused for a moment before continuing, "I've hated many things in my life, Monsieur Marius, but I never thought myself would be one of them."

It was in that moment that Marius realised just how much he'd been neglecting Eponine. He was the reason that she was so broken right now. He'd been so focused on Cosette... Maybe if he hadn't been then she wouldn't have let Montparnasse do anything to her... It was also in that moment that Marius' thoughts turned, once again, to how he'd felt when he'd almost kissed her. That had been the real reason he hadn't thought of her. He'd been trying not to because he knew he would remember that and how close they'd been. It would have been infidelity to Cosette. He had almost kissed her...

"Eponine, I'm so sorry... I've been so focused on Cosette that I–"

"Completely forgot about me." Eponine finished for him.

"No, I–"

"You don't need to come up with some lie. I know it's true. You forgot about me."

"Eponine, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. You're happy with her, I can tell..." Her voice had become very quiet and very sad. Marius noticed a tear roll down her cheek. He gently wiped it away. Eponine flinched at his touch and took several steps back.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked.

"Do you even care?"

"Of course I care!"

"I find that hard to believe seeing as you forgot about me, your 'friend'"

"It's not that I forgot about you, I–"

"You what?" Eponine snapped.

"I was trying not to think about you," Marius confessed. Eponine winced. That stung. Tears formed in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She had to be strong, or at least try to be.

"Why?" she asked, her voice very small.

"Because when I think about you... when I see you, I..." Marius hesitated, and then, taking a few steps towards Eponine, closing the gap between them, he went on, "When I see you, I want to do this," And he kissed her. Eponine froze. She most definitely had not been expecting that. After a moment, she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was filled with such great happiness and, for one fleeting moment, all of the misery in her life seemed to disappear. And then that moment was over and Marius realised what he was doing and pulled away from her. "I... I shouldn't have done that." he said, "I have Cosette, I shouldn't have... I'm sorry 'Ponine." And, with that, Marius ran off. Eponine was alone once more.

**Alright, show of hands... who hates Marius right now? Come on, be honest...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters**

Eponine just stood there in shock, staring at the spot where Marius had been standing only moments before. _Marius kissed me..._ she thought, the feel of his lips lingering on her own. _He actually kissed me... and then he left. Because of Cosette. _Her moment of happiness had passed. _He chose her. Not me. Never me. _She sighed. _He did kiss me though... that's something, even if he did chose her. But then, what does this mean for our friendship? I can live with him not loving me, but living without him at all? That's impossible. _Eponine started walking towards the Cafe Musain.

When she walked inside, she noticed that, for once, everyone was silent. Grantaire had even put his bottle down! They didn't seem to have noticed that Eponine had walked in. _Woah, who died?_ she wondered. Then, after a moment, Enjolras broke the silence,

"Lamarque is dead. Lamarque, his death is the hour of fate. The people's man... his death is the sign we await!" He said, causing a few people to cheer. Eponine blanched. She knew what this meant... "On his funeral day, we'll interrupt the procession. From there we'll start building the barricade. The people will rise, my friends, and France will be free!" Enjolras exclaimed, bringing about even more cheers.

"Where?" Grantaire asked.

"Where what?"

"Where will we build the barricade? We can't just build it anywhere. I suggest the Corinth."

"The wineshop?"

"Of course." Grantaire said. Enjolras gave him a stern look. "Just think about it, think about the layout of the streets. They're narrow and we would be able to block them all off. They would probably attack us from the Rue de la Chanvrerie."

"Since when do you care about the revolution?" Enjolras asked.

"I don't. But I do care about you."

And that was all that Eponine heard. She ran out of the Cafe Musain. _First, I let Montparnasse... Then, Marius kisses me. Then, he leaves me. And now... well now my friends are going to die. Oh God... _Eponine was overwhelmed. She found herself hyperventilating and she was quite unable to calm herself. This was normal for Eponine, with her horrible life, she often suffered from anxiety attacks. But now it was all too much. But even more than that, she had no one to go to. Normally, she would have sought out Marius. He was usually able to calm her down. Now she couldn't even do that! _Will our friendship ever be the same? _Eponine wondered, becoming dizzy from hyperventilating. _If he finds out about the revolution–no, _when_ he finds out about the revolution... will he fight? Will I lose him too? Or have I already lost him? I... I can't lose him _and_ Les Amis... I can't be all alone again..._ She was hyperventilating even more now. _I can't lose them all... what if they all die? I can hardly bear the thought! Even if it is for the betterment of the people. They're my friends... they can't die! _Her world went black.

Marius knew he had some thinking to do. There was no way he could continue to be with Cosette and love Eponine at the same time. He needed to make a decision: did he love Cosette, or did he love Eponine? It was driving him crazy. He was so confused! How could he possibly figure out whether he loved the beautiful and pure Cosette, or Eponine, his best friend and the girl who had always been there for him. _But Cosette is kind and giving... she's... she's a saint! And Eponine... Eponine is beautiful too, and she... she's my best friend! I love her... but I also love Cosette. How is it possible to love two people at once? _Marius found himself walking in the direction of the Cafe Musain. _Maybe Prouvaire can help me..._ he thought, knowing that the romantic would have a few things to say on the matter. But when he walked into the Musain, all of those thoughts temporarily left his mind. He had walked in on them discussing the placement of the barricade.

"I have to agree with Grantaire," Combeferre said, "Rue de la Chanvrerie, just outside of the Corinthe, is probably the best place for the barricade. The street is narrow and there aren't many entrances to the street."

"Alright, then we'll build the barricade there." Enjolras gave in. "But Grantaire, stay away from the wine." This caused the Amis to laugh. Enjolras then took notice of Marius standing in the doorway. "Ah, Marius, so you've decided to grace us with your presence."

"What's going on?" Marius asked.

"Lamarque is dead. We fight tomorrow, after interrupting the funeral procession. Are you with us?" Marius had to think for a moment. If he fought with them, he could die, but if he didn't fight and they all died, then he would never be able to live with himself.

"My place is here, I fight with you."

When Eponine regained consciousness, she could hear the sound of footsteps nearby. As they came closer, she could hear voices too. She couldn't hear the whole conversation, only bits and pieces. But then she heard something about Patria and she knew exactly who the voices belonged to: Les Amis de l'ABC. Eponine shakily stood up. She tried to hear more of the conversation.

"–shouldn't take very long. The people will rise." That was Enjolras, Eponine was sure of it. They were a lot closer now, she could hear them a lot better.

"And if they don't?" Eponine nearly stopped breathing. That was Marius. He knew, that meant he would fight alongside his friends. That meant that he would die. She was going to lose them all...

"Then we die." Enjolras replied. _I... I can't lose them... If they fight, then so do I!_ Eponine remained hidden in the shadows as Les Amis de l'ABC walked past. They didn't notice her. Eponine waited until they were a bit farther away before running off. She needed a disguise.

**I'm sorry it was such a short chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless. Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Here's the next chapter, enjoy! ... Has anyone ever noticed that I always say pretty much the exact same thing at the beginning of every chapter? Hmm... I need to think of other things to say :P**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I am Victor Hugo. Everyone bow down to me... Okay, I'm not Victor Hugo... but wouldn't that be awesome if I was? Well, maybe not 'cause then I'd be dead. So yeah, I don't own Les Misérables or any of the characters. It's quite unfortunate, I know. But, alas, there is nothing I can do to change that... Well I could buy the rights to Les Mis, but I don't have that much money :P**

Eponine sat on the bed in the cheap room she had rented for the night with some money she had pickpocketed. The room hadn't cost very much and Eponine could see why. The wall paper was peeling off of the walls and there was mold where the wall met the ceiling. The wooden floors were rotting and filthy. The bed, if it could even be called that, she was sitting on was very hard and lumpy. The blanket was threadbare and had many holes in it. The pillow was almost non-existant, so worn as it was. Eponine was wearing coarse cordoroy pants and next to her was a plain white blouse, a large man's jacket, and a paper boy's cap. She worked on binding her chest, trying to make it look as flat as possible so she could take on the appearance of a boy. _One more day all on my own, one more day with him not caring... What a life I might have known, but he never saw me there!_ Tomorrow was Lamarque's funeral, tomorrow the students–her friends–would build barricades. It was likely that most of them would die. But Eponine planned on fighting with them. Eponine planned on making sure that Marius did not die. They wouldn't recognise her, she hoped.

Once Eponine had finished binding her chest, she pulled on the blouse and then the jacket. Then she put on the hat and tucked all of her hair into it. She stood up and walked over to the mirror, which was cracked and filthy. She barely recognised herself. She hoped Les Amis wouldn't either. She sighed softly before leaving the building and heading towards the Corinthe, where she hoped she would find Les Amis.

The Corinth was, indeed, where the Amis had gone to. She could see them through the window. She could see Marius. He looked to be deep in thought. Eponine couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

She didn't stay long at the Corinth, and neither did the Amis (Enjolras had sent them all home to get some rest for tomorrow). Eponine returned to the room she had rented. Now she knew for certain that the main barricade would be built at the Corinth. Why else would all the Amis have been there?

The Thenardiers had not lived in the Gorbeau House for quite some time. They had been evicted when they could not pay the rent. Marius, as we have mentioned, still lived there. Eponine, of course, knew this. The room she was renting was in the Gorbeau House and was, in fact, the room that her family had once occupied. The very same room that was the neighbour to Marius.

Eponine heard the door to Marius' flat open and then close. Marius was home. She went over to the bed and stood on it, pressing her eye to a small hole in the wall that allowed her to see into Marius' flat. He looked to be very frustrated. She wondered what was bothering him. She listened, knowing that he sometimes talked to himself when there was something on his mind. She was about to give up after a few minutes of silence, but then she heard him mutter,

"'Ponine, what have you done to me?" Eponine was confused. _What is he talking about? _Then it clicked in her mind,_ Right... the kiss..._ She listened for more, but Marius said nothing else. She watched as he lay down in his bed, which was pressed against the same wall as the bed in her room. Eponine sat down and considered going to bed. But would she really be able to sleep? With all that had happened that day–well, night, her mind was on overload. _Montparnasse... the bridge... Marius... that kiss... the revolution..._ these thoughts repeated themselves in her mind. She couldn't turn it off, she couldn't think of anything else. These thoughts refused to leave her alone, refused to go away. Eponine did not sleep that night.

Marius, too, had thoughts that refused to leave him be. _Cosette... Eponine... the bridge... that kiss... the revolution..._ He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had figured it out: did he love Cosette or Eponine? Cosette was nice, yes, and she was beautiful. But so was Eponine. Eponine was beautiful, but there was so much more to her than that. She was his best friend, she was kind, she was selfless... How could he not love her? And Cosette... well she certainly beautiful. But what more was there, really? _That's it then, isn't it? _Marius thought, _I... I love Eponine!_ And he knew it was true. _I love her, not Cosette... I love my best friend..._ And, with that thought in his mind, Marius drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

The hearse carrying General Jean Maximilien Lamarque slowly made its way throught the street. Several of the people who were watching this funeral procession cried. Lamarque had been well-liked. He would be missed by many.

"Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men. It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again." Enjolras softly sang. A few people joined him, "When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drum, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes." Even more joined in, "Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance, some will fall and some will live will you stand up and take your chance? The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!" And all hell broke loose. People ran into the streets, Enjolras and a couple of others, including Marius, climbed about the hearse and the song grew louder as more voices joined in, "Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men! It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drum, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!" Eponine stayed close to the hearse, her eyes hardly ever leaving Marius.

The funeral procession was soon stopped by the National Guard. Every one of their men was armed with a sword. Marius and Enjolras pointed their pistols at them. A shot rang out, but the shot did not come from Enjolras or Marius. An innocent dropped to the ground, dead. There were angry cries at this and Enjolras himself killed the man who had shot the innocent. Though it is of little importance to say, that man was Claquesous.

"To the barricades!" Enjolras shouted. Les Amis de l'ABC, as well as many others, headed towards the Rue de la Chanvrerie and the building of the main barricade commenced. A group of 10 were sent to build a smaller barricade in the Rue Saint Denis.

The barricades were soon built and the revolutionaries were left to wait. Marius sat down next to a boy around his age whom he did not recognise. He guessed that he was one of the many who had joined after seeing the funeral procession disrupted. The boy wore rough cordoroy pants and a jacket that was quite large on him. He, like most of the poor, was far too thin. On his head he wore a hat, which cast a shadow upon his face.

"Nervous?" he asked the boy. The boy shook his head. "Wish I could say the same." Marius said with a slight laugh. "I'm Marius. Marius Pontmercy."

"I'm Antoine Fabantou." the boy introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you." Marius said. There was something off about his voice, Antoine thought. He seemed troubled by something.

"Is there something wrong?" Antoine asked, his curiosity getting the better of himself.

"No, well... yes... Just last night I realised that... that I love someone, my best friend, actually. But I may never see her again... If I live through this, I'm going to tell her. I'm going to tell her that I love her." he paused and then looked at Antoine. "Honestly I'm not sure why I'm telling you this, you just... you're easy to talk to." Antoine smiled slightly.

"Do you think that she loves you back?"

"I can only hope."

**Don't you just love these puns? Aren't they just great? I **_**hope**_** you liked it! Please review!**

**I now have a blog for my account. In it, I will talk about future story ideas, current stories that I'm working on, and you'll probably get some sneak-peeks. If you wish to follow me on tumblr, my tumblr name thing is missfiyerabameponinesherlock . tumblr . com**

**Also, please check out the new poll on my profile page. It's regarding one of my future stories, Behold the Night That Falls, which centres around the attack on Rue Plumet.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, so here's the next chapter. You might see some parts from the book in this. Also, I was going to work on Le Jour de Gloire est Arrivé, but then my brain screamed "NO, YOU HAVE TO WORK ON HOPE BECAUSE YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO WRITE AND IF YOU DON'T WRITE IT I WILL MAKE YOU SLEEP!" Sometimes, I think my brain has a mind of its own. Le Jour de Gloire est Arrivé will probably be the next update I work on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters.**

"So what brings you to the barricade?" Marius asked Antoine. He hadn't seen the boy at any of the meetings in the Musain before.

"The same as you, I suppose." Antoine replied, "To free France." Marius nodded and both were silent for a moment, both thinking of the battle to come. "So this girl, your best friend, what's she like?" Antoine asked conversationally.

"She's... she's beautiful, and funny, and kind, and selfless, and amazing. But she doesn't think very much of herself, she doesn't think that she's beautiful. But that sort of adds to her beauty. It's rare when a beautiful girl doesn't know that she's beautiful. Most girls that do makes sure that everyone else does as well. But not her, not my Eponine. That's her name, Eponine. She's got a sort of rare beauty, you know? She's beautiful, but doesn't know that she's beautiful. She's got these really beautiful eyes. Hazel, with gold flecks that are only noticeable from up close. But her eyes, they change. Sometimes they're this really beautiful green colour that reminds me of spring, and sometimes they're like melted chocolate, the gold flecks are more noticeable then. Her eyes are always so full of warmth, it gives me the feeling of belonging. Like I belong with her... I'm really not sure how I didn't notice that I love her sooner... And her smile... oh her smile, it's the most beautiful thing. Words can't even describe its radiance. Even when I'm at my lowest, her smile... it brightens my day, it makes everything feel right. My God, I really was a fool not to realise it before... I love her. I really do. She's my best friend and I love her. I can't picture a world without her in it, I can't imagine never seeing her again. That's why I have to live through this. I have to tell her. She needs to know that I love her. I wish I had told her before because now there's a chance that I might never be able to." Marius told him, a far away look in his eyes. He was, of course, thinking of Eponine, picturing her in his head. He knew that he would be fighting for her and for the many others like her. _Les abaissés._ The abased, the oppressed. Once France was free, they would be free as well. Eponine would be free...

"You really love her, don't you?" Antoine said, a slight smile on his face.

"I really do." Marius replied with a nod.

...

It was not long before the first wave of soldiers came. The revolutionaries could hear them before they could see them. Just by the sound of the soldiers marching, they could tell that they were outnumbered. Vastly outnumbered. They tried not to let this get to them, they had to keep their faith in the revolution. When the National Guard had rounded the corner and halted in front of the barricade, their commander called out,

"Who's there?"

"French revolution!" Enjolras replied.

"Fire!"

And so began the first attack. Hundreds of bullets attacked the barricade. The students fired back, though they were careful not to get hit themselves. Some managed to kill or injure a National Guardsman, yet they were still outnumbered. When one soldier fell, another replaced him. During this attack, the red flag of revolution fell from its place at the top of the barricade and landed at Enjolras' feet.

"Save your gun powder!" Enjolras cried out to the students, "Let's wait until they are closer!" The National Guard had been advancing, trying to get close enough to actually hit one of them. "Our flag has fallen." Enjolras said as he picked up the red flag, "Has anyone the courage to return it to its rightful place?" No one stepped forth. Even Enjolras shuddered at the thought. If one were to climb to the top of the barricade to return the red flag of revolution, when all the guns were doubtlessly aimed at it, they would surely be shot down by multiple National Guardsmen. Enjolras looked around. As he had expected, no one had stepped forward. "Will no one offer?" Again, there was silence. But then,

"I'll do it." a clear voice rang out. Everyone looked around for the owner of the voice. Antoine Fabantou stepped forth. They all looked towards him, some with looks of disbelief, some with looks of admiration, and some with looks that would suggest that they thought him to be insane. Antoine did not care about the looks that people gave him. He believed in this revolution and he was fearless. He looked around at everyone and, in the midst of the small crowd, he caught sight of Marius. Marius looked... scared for him, but at the same time he had to admire the boy's fearlessness. Antoine smiled at him, before walking towards Enjolras and taking the flag from him. Antoine truly did believe in the revolution. He had, in fact, been at most of the meetings in the Musain. But no one had recognised him or thought much of his presence there. He was a gamin, he knew what poverty was like. His two siblings knew what poverty was like. So yes, he did believe in the revolution. He didn't fear death, not now, not when he was truly happy. For that's what he was: happy. Besides, he could live through this. He did intend to, he didn't _want_ to die. Antoine was fast. He hoped he was fast enough to dodge the bullets.

He walked up to the barricade and began the climb, the red flag clutched tightly in his left hand. He quickly climbed to the top. The first shot fired at him went through his right shoulder. He cried out and tried, through the pain, to secure the flag to the top of the barricade. Another shot fired, this one went into his left leg. The flag was once again on the barricade. Three more shots fired. One entered his stomach, one entered side, and one entered his chest, right over his heart. Antoine, though blinded by pain, climbed down the barricade and then collapsed. Marius ran over to him. He was the first to see just how bad his wounds were.

"Good God!" he exclaimed, "Antoine, we need to get you some help..." But Antoine was already certain that he would die. Marius moved to pick him up, but Antoine stopped him, gently grabbing his arm.

"Marius, you know how you said that you wanted to tell Eponine that you love her?" he said weakly.

"Yes, what about it?"

Antoine removed his hat and his face was no longer concealed by the shadow cast by the hat. Marius couldn't conceal his gasp. Antoine wasn't a boy. Antoine was Eponine.

"You already did."

**So... are you guys depressed now? Please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, I lied. Here's the next chapter, Le Jour de Gloire est Arrivé will most likely be updated after this.**

**Also, I AUDITIONED FOR FOOTLOOSE YESTERDAY (vocal audition) AND TODAY (dance audition)! AND I MET THREE MORE PEOPLE THAT LOVE LES MIS! NOW THERE ARE SIX! YAY!**

***Cough* Ahem, where was I?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Les Misérables, nor do I own the characters. **

Antoine was Eponine. But... how? Marius didn't understand it. He should have recognised her, he should have known it was her... Eponine could tell what thoughts were going through his head and she smiled sadly at him.

"Don't feel bad, Marius. I've spent a good deal of my life acting, disguising both myself and my voice in order to cheat money out of people." she told him. "It's simply what I do." Marius, though still feeling that he should have recognised her, shoved those thoughts aside.

"Eponine, you need medical help, you need a doctor."

"Marius, there's nothing that can be done now. I'm not going to live through this." Marius shuddered. To hear it put so bluntly... and by Eponine, herself... it hurt. Marius sank to his knees next to her. She smiled softly and then, without looking at him, she asked, "Did you really mean what you said, Monsieur? About loving me?" her voice was soft and weak, yet had, in it, hints of doubt, as if she believed herself unworthy of love.

"Every word." he promised her. She smiled again, a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. Then, with an effort, she turned her gaze to look at him and she took his hand tenderly with one of her own. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at her, though she could see the sadness in his eyes. "I love you, 'Ponine." he murmured. "Please, let me carry you to a room in the Corinthe, Joly or Combeferre can help you. Please, 'Ponine..." his voice was sorrow-filled.

"It's of no use, Marius." And with saying this came a gasp of pain. "Hold me..." she whispered, "Please..." her voice was pleading and desperate. Marius obliged and gently took her in his arms. "The pain is gone now..." she said. It was, of course, a lie meant to make him feel better, though it did hold some truth. She did feel better in his arms, not physically, but mentally. In his embrace, she no longer felt as broken, as lonely. No, she felt loved, which was all she had ever wanted. She rested her head against his chest, a wave of fatigue crashing over her. Marius kissed her forehead. He was now covered in her blood. "I'm so... tired..." she breathed, the darkness creeping in on her. "Everything has gone... dark... Where... did the light... go?" Marius blinked back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. A crowd of revolutionaries had formed around them now.

"Don't leave me, 'Ponine... Please, don't leave me!" his voice was so sad, so broken. It was the type of voice that was hard to refuse. But Eponine knew she would die. "Please, 'Ponine!" He couldn't stop the tears now. They fell rapidly from his bright green eyes.

"I'm... sorry..."

"Please, let me carry you to a room. They can help you! You'll live!" Even Marius didn't believe his own words. Eponine's eyes had closed and opening was proving to be a difficult task. Her breathing had slowed quite a bit. She coughed weakly and blood came up. She managed to open her eyes and look at Marius. Her eyes were filled with nothing but love for him.

"Marius... you... you should know... I've loved you since I've... known you..." She then used the last of her strength to kiss him tenderly, before falling back, her eyes closing once again. She was completely motionless. Marius was left holding her limp body.

"'Ponine?" he shook her gently, refusing to believe that she was dead. "No... no! Oh God, please... no..." he was sobbing. He wasn't the only one crying, all of Les Amis de l'ABC had tears rolling down their cheeks. Even Enjolras–the marble statue–had tears in his eyes. They had all known Eponine, they had all been her friend. Enjolras stepped towards Marius, placing a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way.

"Marius–" he began, but then stopped. He was staring at Eponine in amazement and disbelief. "She's... she's still alive. Look at her, she's breathing!" He was right. Eponine was still breathing, though they were very shallow and uneven breaths. "Let's bring her to Joly and Combeferre. She needs to be brought to the hospital, but right now that's an impossibility. We'll have to hope that she can hold out at least until this wave of attacks is over." Marius nodded, quickly lifting her. He all but ran into the Corinthe, where Joly and Combeferre were readily waiting, in the event that someone should get injured–which had indeed happened. Upon seeing Marius with Eponine, Joly quickly led him over to a table.

"Lay her down, there, on the table." he said. Marius did just that. Combeferre and Joly quickly got to work, removing the bullets that weren't in too deep, attempting to staunch the flow of blood, and stitching up her wounds. "It's... it's not enough..." Joly said, clearly horrified by this. "She's losing too much blood..." Combeferre checked her pulse.

"We're losing her..." he said quietly.

"No!" Marius cried out, his voice broken and mangled. "Please... please, don't give up on her... I... I can't lose her..."

"Of course we'll keep trying." Combeferre assured him.

_She's loved me all these years... but I never knew. _Marius thought, _Why couldn't I have known!? Maybe then she wouldn't be dying, maybe then we'd be together... But I never noticed, I never saw her there... Why didn't I notice her!? I love her! I think... I think I always have loved her, but I never realised it. Not until last night. And now I know she's loved me all this time, but it could be too late..._

"She needs a doctor's care," Joly said, "a _real_ doctor. She needs to be brought to the hospital."

"Right now, it's safer for her here. If we try to get her out, we'll all be killed." Combeferre reminded him. Eponine's eyes opened and she took a deep, though shaky, breath. She let out a cry of pain. The pain was overwhelming and threatened to engulf her entirely. Marius, upon hearing her, snapped out of his thoughts and hurried to her side, gently taking hold of one of her hands. Eponine managed a weak smile, despite her pain.

The gunshots were audible from inside the Corinthe, as well as the sound of Enjolras giving commands, or a National Guardsman shouting 'fire!' Marius half wanted to join his friends in the fight, but he knew he couldn't leave Eponine's side. Not when she might die, not when she was in so much pain. Still, it was hard knowing that his friends were out there and that they, too, could die. Marius glanced out the window. The barricade was about to be taken. No, that couldn't happen! Marius' eyes moved to a powder keg on the ground and then back to the window, where he could see a torch at the top of the barricade. When he looked at Eponine again, he found that she had lost consciousness once more.

He knew what he had to do.

**And there ya go! Please review!**


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